April 5, 2010

Easter celebrations were going on in earnest on Friday, when I heard the unmistakable sounds of a marching band. By the time I got my camera and stepped out on the terrace most of the parade had passed. It was a sea of people, most carrying umbrellas because of the very bright sun. The kids horsing around on the street are wearing scout uniforms-- who knows what else I missed?

Fortunately, the leader, whom I couldn’t see at this point, decided to stop and give a speech and I was able to take a shot of some of the members of the wind section, who were looking very dapper.

I walked to the central plaza on Sunday, hoping to see more celebrations but I guess the weekend was winding down and all I got to see were the people streaming in and out of the main cathedral.

There was definitely an air of festivity around and I was told that eating candy after mass is a huge part of the Ecuadorean Easter tradition. All kinds of sweets were on sale right outside the steps of the cathedral, including candy apples. The candied grapes on a stick were an interesting innovation on the theme.

The most popular sweet appeared to be this frothy sugary concoction (it’s some sort of airy brittle meringue thing)--just looking at it made my teeth ache. It would take a stronger woman than me to brave something this scary.